By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2026-11-10

The Yemeni Ministry of Public Health reports that the Houthi militia’s relentless siege has pushed Taiz province toward total medical collapse.

Restrictions on essential medical supplies have crippled life-saving services, leaving hundreds of thousands of civilians without any access to basic care.

Nearly 246,711 people, including 186,415 children and 22,986 pregnant women, have lost access to basic healthcare services, the Ministry warned on October 29.

Immunization and nutrition programs have completely ceased in 44 facilities, abandoning over 32,000 children suffering from varying stages of acute malnutrition.

Current fuel stocks have plummeted to a mere five percent, while critical oxygen supplies are standing at a catastrophic two percent.

Hospitals struggle daily against an estimated deficit of 201 oxygen cylinders, leaving twelve vital medical facilities on the verge of shutting down.

Siege strangles vital healthcare services

Yemeni Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Abdul-Raqib al-Haidari described the dire conditions, stating that the current health crisis threatens the lives of thousands.

"We are facing a medical emergency that endangers the lives of thousands of patients and wounded individuals," he told Al-Fassel.

The Houthis consistently obstruct the arrival of fuel and medicine, even as the number of critically ill patients continues to rise.

The potential collapse of these facilities puts premature infants, kidney failure patients and trauma victims at an immediate, life-threatening risk.

Al-Haidari warned that urgently opening blocked roads and allowing supply convoys is the only way to save these vulnerable patient populations.

Civilians used as political leverage

Yemeni Deputy Minister of Information, Fayyad al-Numan, accused the Houthi militia of weaponizing the fundamental needs of civilians for their own military and political gain.

"The continued closure of vital roads and the obstruction of medical necessities compounds the suffering of innocent civilians," he told Al-Fassel.

Protecting Yemenis requires an immediate end to the fighting and an unconditional lifting of the brutal siege imposed upon Taiz.

"Citizens' basic needs should never be subjects for political or military bargaining," al-Numan said.

He argued that the international community must document these atrocities and hold the responsible Houthi leadership accountable for these war crimes.

Activists emphasize that civilians pay the heaviest price for this conflict and they demand urgent humanitarian intervention to secure essential supply lines.

This is not merely a war of combatants; it is a direct assault on the survival of the Yemeni people themselves.